Portable, handheld video game systems are popular among people of all ages. Some examples of these systems include Nintendo GameBoy® and Nintendo GameBoy Advance®. With the advent of touch screens, the player can now interact with the game screen using a stylus.
Handheld portable computing systems which use a touch screen and stylus have existed in the past, but these systems have generally been directed at data storage and organization. While basic games have been developed for such systems, games nearing the magnitude and scope of typical portable handheld gaming have generally not been available in the past. People using these stylus controlled systems have generally used them for business and time management, not as video game systems.
Even though stylus based portable devices exist, additional improvements allowing the player to experience the benefits a stylus could provide in a video game system would be beneficial. Needs exist for stylus based control that are as easy to use as joystick control of a digital object in a virtual gamespace.
One area of interest relates to control of multiple, independently movable objects displayed on the screen. Suppose for example that two different animated cartoon characters or other objects are displayed as part of a game or other video display. Each of these animated objects can move independently. They may also be able to interact with one another or otherwise move together in a coordinated fashion.
In a multiplayer context, it is possible to assign different players to control different characters. For example, a first human player can control a first animated character, a second human player can control a second animated character, and so on. A single player mode or game presents a different challenge. Sometimes the computer can control one object while the human player controls another object. But sometimes it might be desirable for a single human player to be able to control or otherwise influence the actions of both animated characters.
One possible approach would be to provide different joysticks for the different characters. For example, one joystick could be assigned to control one character, and another joystick could be assigned to control another character. However, this type of arrangement may not be possible or practical in the context of scaled-down gaming platforms such as portable or handheld videogame systems. In such systems having a minimal number of controls, it may be a challenge to allow a player to control multiple, independently movable objects on the screen.
The exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations herein provide methods and apparatus for controlling movement of a plurality of digital displayed objects. The digital objects may be any digital objects, such as animated game characters. A player wishing to move the digital objects can use a stylus or other touch to draw strokes or gestures on the screen. Different strokes can specify different types of control inputs. For example, based on where a stroke begins and ends on the screen relative to character position, different animated character actions can be selected and controlled. Some strokes control only one animated character to move in a particular direction, whereas other strokes can control multiple objects to move in a coordinated manner.
The exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations allow a player to manipulate game objects in a flexible fashion. The player feels as if he is directly manipulating the game objects and so has a close connection to the game experience.